


3 eaten 1 kept

by orphan_account



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-14 10:26:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3407225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if a crocodile crossed their path when they were still young. What if there was only one turtle left to reach adulthood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A collection of fragments of a rough AU idea. In no particular order.

Now that he has satisfied his hunger, he does not know what to do with the fourth one. He nudges the still figure. The tiny body slides some inches across the slick red concrete. It looks frail anyway, the colour of its skin not as vibrant as the others, but a sickly olive.  
Still. The hunger will come back. So he picks the turtle up and takes it with him.


	2. Chapter 2

His large hands embrace the turtle’s body with ease. Long nails unintentionally scrap over carapace, scratching off some dirt, and he mumbles an apology. Did the turtle even know how dirty his shell was? He lifts his arms higher so these deft hands can finally reach the pipes above their heads. Some more grime falls off the turtle’s shell and Leatherhead closes his nictitating membranes out of reflex.  
Maybe it was good that the turtle was so filthy. It made him less appealing as a meal. Despite all the winters that they were housing together now, Leatherhead still finds himself looking at that small shell with predatory eyes.  
Maybe he should give it a name.


	3. Chapter 3

He has never encountered such strange turtles in the sewers. Turtles are a rare meal. Rare and delicious. He is not fully grown yet, but his jaws are already powerful, he can apply enough force to break open a medium-sized shell.   
But the turtles he found that day were not like the others before. These were moving differently. A little bit faster than his usual turtle-prey. Unnaturally walking on two legs only. He did not give it much thought then. He was hungry. He was hunting.  
They did not taste as delicious as he remembered. He was glad he did not eat all four of them when the abdominal cramping started.


	4. Chapter 4

It is the first winter where neither of them would hibernate or go dormant. They have accumulated a lot of isolating material to build their nest over the past few months. Most of the chamber is filled with paper, cardboard, pieces of fabric and foam material. The car tires that build the floor and parts of the walls keep the cold creeping from the stones at bay. It is the first winter where their hideout is dry, where it is rather warm.   
Leatherhead stays inactive most of the day, sleeping the hours away in order to preserve energy and reduce the need to eat. He has grown large and it gets more and more difficult to gather enough food. The homeless people have already learned to avoid this area.


	5. Chapter 5

He did not know what surprised him more. That the turtle was capable of speech, or that he himself was able to understand and answer in the same manner. While the turtle’s voice sounded rather squeaky, his own was a mixture of growling and rumbling.   
Members of his species do not make many sounds. They sometimes produce a hissing noise, but are silent otherwise. Silent and deadly predators.   
The sounds of the humans aboveground started to make more and more sense during the course of the past few weeks. He had noticed this on occasion. And now, basically overnight, they both were able to make the same sounds humans produced.


	6. Chapter 6

When the agonizing cramps finally subsided he feels nothing but relief. With much effort he lifts himself off the ground, but only to turn around and move away from the half-digested reptilian remains. He tastes blood on his tongue. It is very likely that a sharp fragment of the cracked shells cut into the soft flesh of his mouth when he vomited.  
He feels exhausted, so very tired, and his skin is as cold as the concrete ground he rests on.  
To his mild surprise, the turtle is still here, lying in a corner opposite to the exit, eyes closed and unmoving. There are discolorations on the turtle’s skin that were not there before.   
He vaguely remembers trashing around, tail and limbs jerking without warning in every possible direction. Before fatigue causes him to drift to a light sleep, he subconsciously pulls his limbs under his body. Maybe to shield himself from the cold floor, maybe to avoid causing further damage on the turtle while not conscious.


End file.
